Pagan Media Leader Honors Sacred News Cycle

Photo Credit: Brian Wolfe

Leader in Pagan Media Jason Pitzl-Waters gave readers a rare glimpse into his personal spiritual practice on his popular news blog The Wild Hunt yesterday, sharing his deep reverence for the sacred news cycle and the media spin that connects us all.

"I don't speak for all Pagans, of course, but many Pagans see the divine in the natural world and believe that human beings are a part of nature," Pitzl-Waters explained. "Nature is full of cycles: the cycles of night and day, life and death, the changing of the seasons. For me, the sacred news cycle is one of the deepest mysteries."

"Every year, the same stories return again and again," he continued. "Sure, the names might be different and the faces change, but the deeper truths remain constant. We will always have news coverage about Witches in October with the coming of Halloween and Pagan Pride Day. Just like every June, I look forward to seeing the same stock photos of bearded, white-robed Druids gathered at Stonehenge to greet the sunrise on the summer solstice. It fills me with joy to know that we are all part of this never-ending cycle of media racket."

Every year, the same stories return again and again. The names might be different and the faces change, but the deeper truths remain constant.

It's not all good news, though. "Sure there are bad news days," Pitzl-Waters admitted, "but you have to take them in stride as just another part of the cycle. I don't believe in the Judeo-Christian doctrine that the media is fallen and corrupt, that 'no news is good news.' Yes, local nightly news programs put out shallow crap about how terrible the world is and how this or that threat is going to kill your children... but that's just their role in the greater media web. Embracing the sacred news cycle reminds me to breathe and accept that this too shall pass."

He pointed to the example of a recent news story about a convicted murderer converting to Wicca while in prison, a perennial in the local news industry. The story made it briefly into the number two spot in Google News search results for 'Wicca,' prompting Pitzl-Waters to share his thoughts on the sacred news cycle publicly. "Within hours of my post, the story had once again disappeared into the internet's soothing cacophony of white noise. Now my own post, commenting on that story, is on the first page of the search results, right after a month-old story about a Facebook page for an adorable pit bull in Canada named Wicca, who saved her owner's life by licking him a lot. Isn't media amazing?!"

Pitzl-Waters' reverence for the sacred news cycle also influences his spiritual practices. "I can't speak for other Pagans, but my practice helps me to remain in harmony with the larger patterns that shape our virtual lives through television, social media, blogs, internet forums, and aggregate news websites. When I settle down in front of my computer to spin, I feel at peace with the world." As part of his spiritual path, Pitzl-Waters spends time every day engaging in what media experts call spinning, the practice of "providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor of or against a certain organization or public figure." He explained further, "When I first started spinning, I felt a lot of uncertainty: Was I doing it right? Would it work? Or was it really just one of Satan's tricks like my parents warned me? But these days, I understand that my fears were misguided, based in ignorance and archaic beliefs about how news works. Now when I spin, I know that I'm participating in the amazing and powerful magic of the media, that re-enchants the world and keeps us all entertained."

You can't escape spin — it's everywhere. If you don't do it, someone else is going to do it for you.

He went on to point out how the Judeo-Christian mainstream views media as linear, rather than cyclical. "Most mainstream journalists believe that every story is a unique event in history, and that what they report can actually help make a difference and bring about social progress. They celebrate media heroes like Carl Bernstein and Walter Cronkite. Some even believe that if they work hard enough, they'll be able to write news coverage that is 'pure' and free of bias. But to me that seems wrong-headed.

"You can't escape spin — it's everywhere. If you don't do it, someone else is going to do it for you. Even the belief in objective reporting is a kind of spin. And when you accept that, you realize that anyone can do it, not just professional journalists. With spin and a wordpress blog, everyone can be their own reporter. But that's just my own perspective, of course, I don't speak for all Pagans," he added quickly.